Folding chair



July 4, 1961 E. F. HAMILTON FOLDING CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 5, 1958 L/467%@ ,wf ,QA/frs.

July 4, 1961 E. F. HAMILTON 2,991,123

FOLDING CHAIR Filed May 5. 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV ENTOR.

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2,991,123 FOLDING CHAIR Earl F. Hamilton, Columbus, Ind., assgnor to Hamilton Cosco, Inc., a corporation of Indiana Filed May s, 195s, ser. No. 733,170 4 Claims. (Cl. 297-155) This invention relates to furniture, and more particularly to collapsible arm chairs in which the rear legs and the chair seat are foldable from an operative position into a collapsed position in which they are disposed adjacent the plane of the front chair legs.

The present invention -has for an object to simplify and improve the assembly of such articles. Another object is to provide a chair which when its parts are disposed in operative position will offer but little indication of its collapsibility, and which when its parts are disposed in collapsed position can be compactly stacked or nested with other such chairs. A further object is to provide a collapsible chair whose retraction and extension may be readily and easily effected, and which will tend to remain in either of said collapsed or extended positions. A still further object is toV provide a collapsible chair which lends itself to manufacture largely from sturdy and economical metal tubing and sheet metal.

In carrying out my invention in its preferred form, I provide a generally U-shaped, unitary frame having a horizontal intermediate stretch to which a back-pad is secured and side stretches which extend forwardly from the intermediate stretch to provide arms and are then bent to extend obliquely downward to form the front chair legs. A pair of rear legs are pivotally secured to the frame, desirably adjacent the front ends of the arm-forming portions thereof. The seat is pivoted to the rear legs near its rear edge and is connected to the front legs through a seat-supporting rod having its ends pivotally connected to the front legs and its intermediate portion offset rearwardly and pivotally connected to the seat on a transverse axis.

With this construction, chair collapse is readily effected by tilting the chair forwardly to lift the rear legs from the fioor and simply raising the forward portion of the chair seat, whereupon the seat pivots with respect to the front legs about the seat-supporting rod and moves the rear portion of the seat downwardly. As the rear portion of the seat moves downwardly the rear legs pivot forwardly about the axis of their connection with the front-supporting frame until the front and rear legs are disposed on adjacent substantially parallel planes. In this position of complete retraction or collapse the seat is moved to a substantially vertical position in a plane adjacent the planes of the front and rear legs. To extend the chair, the front edge of the seat is forced forwardly, or the rear legs rearwardly, whereupon the seat and rear legs readily move to their operative positions.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention. In'such drawings:

FIG. l is a side elevation of a chair embodying my invention and showing said chair in collapsed position in dotted lines;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the chair shown in FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the chair of FIG. l with portions thereof broken away to show the pivotal seat construction;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical section showing the leg bracing structure; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 5 5 of FIG. 3.

The chair shown in the drawings comprises a back and a seat 12 supported on front legs 14 and rear legs 16. The front legs 14 conveniently are the generally parallel stretches of a frame 17 formed of square metal tubing bent at its intermediate or bight portion 18 and rigidly secured to the chair back 10 by bolts 20 extending through countersunk openings 22 in the bight 18 to receive nuts 23 rigidly mounted in openings cut in a chair back frame 24 constituting Ithe rigid structural member of the back 10u The frame 17 is bent in a manner so that the ends of the bight 18 extend forwardly from the chair back 10 to form a pair of arms 26 continuous with, and at an angle to, the upper ends of the legs 14. The legs 14 extend obliquely downward from the forward ends of the arms 26 to provide in `combination with the rear legs 16 a broad oorengaging base. Conveniently, in order to enhance the comfort of the person using the chair, the arms 26 are displaced slightly beyond the lateral margins of the chair seat 12 and back 10, as shown in FIG. 2. This lateral displacement of the arms also permits the chair to be completely collapsed when a seat having a wider width at i-ts forward end than its rearward end is used.

Each of the rear legs 16 is formed from a length of square metal tubing and is pivotally joined to the forward end of one of the arms 26. To this end, the upper ends of the legs 16 are pinched or partially collapsed for reception in openings 29` cut in the lower faces of the arms 26, The arms 26 and the legs 16 are pivotally interconnected, as by rivets .30, extending through openings formed in said arms and legs. Desirably, in order to lessen the indications of the chairs collapsibility the ends of the rivets 30 are recessed in countersunk openings formed in the side walls of the arms 26.

The rear legs 16 are pivotally connected to the chair seat 12 by a pair of rods 32 whose out bent ends 34 are rotatably received in suitable coaxial openings in the inner faces of said legs. The opposite or inner ends 35 of the rods 32 are bent into a generally C-shape and are rigidly connected to the `seat 12. As shown, the seat 112 embodies a seat pan 36 having a depending peripheral lip 37 and forming the basic structural support for said seat. The rods 32 extend through openings in the lateral stretches of the pan lip 37 and are clamped to the pan 36 near its rear edge by clips 38 secured to the lower face of said pan. One end of each of the clips 38 comprises a tab 4t) insertable in a slot cut in the seat pan, and the opposite end comprises a tab 42 secured to the lower face of the pan 36 by screws 44; the ends 35 of the rods 32 being retained against the pan 36 between the tabs 40` and the bolts 44. Conveniently, spacers 46 are disposed around the rods 32 between the lip 37 and the legs 16 to insure centering of the seat 12 between the legs 16 and to prevent the seat from binding against the legs 16 during collapse or extension of the chair.

The front legs 14 are interconnected by a seat-supporting rod 48 having its ends 49 pivotally received in aligned openings in the inner faces of said legs. When the chair is in extended position, the rod 48 extends transversely below the seat 12 with the pan lip 3'7 resting thereon forwardly of the transverse seat axis or center line. The mid-section 50 of the rod 48 is offset rearwardly from the ends 49 and is pivotally secured to the lower face of the seat pan 36 by clips 52 similar in construction and mounting to the clips 38. That is, one end of each of the clips 52 comprises a tab 54 insertable in a slot cut in the seat pan 36, and the opposite end comprises a tab 56 secured to the lower face of the pan by bolts 58. By oifsetting the rod mid-section 50 rearwardly of the ends 49 and the transverse seat center line a pivotal link is formed between each of the ends and the mid-section for effecting chair collapse, as will be more fully described hereinafter.

Desirably, in order to dispose both the front and rear legs 14 and 16 closer to the lateral margins of the seat 12 without constricting the space between the arms 26,

f said front and rear legs are bent laterally inwardly at the plane of said seat, thereby shortening the length of the rods 48 and 32 between the pan lip 37 and the front and rear legs respectively to add rigidity to the interconnection between said rods and the seat. This is of particular importance when the arms 26 are disposed a relatively great distance beyond the lateral margins of the back and seat which causes a corresponding separation between the lateral seat margins and the front and rear legs.

Preferably, both the front and rear legs are braced adjacent their lower ends by stretchers. As shown in FIG. 4, I prefer to interconnect both the front and rear legs by transversely extending stretchers 60 whose ends are received in openings 62 cut in the inner faces of the legs. The stretchers 60 are held in position in the legs 14 and 16 by pins 64 extending through vertically disposed openings cut in the ends of the stretchers 60 with the lower face of each stretcher resting on a lug 69 formed on each pin. Each of the pins 64 is retained in a fixed position in one of the legs by a dimple 68 formed in its side wall which receives a corresponding dimple formed in the inner face of the chair leg.

Desirably, each of the legs 14 and 16 is provided with a cap or foot 70 of rubber, plastic, or other suitable material fit over its lower end to prevent slippage and to provide a smooth Hoor-engaging surface.

Collapse of the chair from extended position is most easily etected by tilting it forward to lift the rear legs 16 from the fioor and by then applying an upward force to the front of the seat 12 whereupon the seat 12 pivots about its connection with the rod 48 to lower the rear of the seat. Lowering of the rear of the seat forces the lower portion of the legs 16 toward the legs 14, the legs 16 pivoting with respect to the seat about the axisV of the rods 32 and with respect to the legs 14 about the axis of the rivets 30. During this pivotal seat and rear leg movement the ends 49 of the rod 48 pivot in the legs 14 so that the pivotal link formed by the pivotal connection between the rod 48 and the legs 14 and the seat 12 is pivoted upwardly, thereby permitting the chair seat 12 to swing slightly past an upright vertical position to dis- Y pose its rear edge forwardly of its front edge, as shown in the dotted line in FIG. 1. Forward movement of the rear seat edge in collapse of the chair is limited by the pan lip engaging the rod 48 adjacent the rear edge of the seat.

The axis of pivotal interconnection between the seat 12 and the rod 48 is so located as to prevent the force of gravity from causing extension of the chair when it is lifted by the back when in collapsed condition. In this connection, it may be noted that when the collapsed chair is lifted by the back, the weight of the front portion of the chair seat tends to swing the seat in the chairextending direction, such tendency lbeing opposed by the weight of the rear portion of the seat and the weight of the rear legs. If, as is desired, the axis of pivotal connection of the seat to the rod 48 is located close enough to the front edge of the seat, the weights of the rear legs and of the rear seat portion will predominate and will tend to maintain the chair collapsed. However, owing to the relative horizontal shifting of pivot points when the chair is extended, the chair will not tend to collapse if lifted by the back when in extended condition.

One of the advantages of my novel chair resides in the provision of a construction which permits a plurality of such chairs to be nested or stacked for compact storage. Nesting is accomplished by collapsing the chairs and then inserting the back of one of the chairs in the space between the arms of the chair in back of it with the front legs of the second, or rear, chair abutting the rear legs of the forward chair. Conveniently, the length of the chair arms is sufficiently long that the backs of three chairs can be disposed between the seat and back of the most rearward chair, thereby permitting the chairs to be nested in convenient groups of fours.

I claim as my invention:

1. A collapsible chair having a back and a seat, comprising a front-supporting frame having a rearwardly offset bight portion upon which said back is mounted and interconnecting a pair of floor-engageable front legs, said back being ixedly mounted on said bight portion substantially rearwardly of the plane of the front legs, a pair of rear legs pivotally connected to said bight portion rearwardly of the plane of the front legs and vertically swingable between a retracted position in which they are in a plane parallel to and rearwardly of the plane of the front legs and an operative position in which they are disposed well rearwardly of the front legs, means pivotally connecting said rear legs to the chair seat on fixed pivotal axes, and a seat-supporting rod pivotally connected to the front legs forwardly of the transverse seat center line and pivotally connected to the seat rearwardly of its transverse center line to support the seat in operative position and to form a pivotal interconnection between said seat and front legs whereby said seat may be swung through the plane of the front legs to dispose its forward edge rearwardly of the plane of the front legs when the chair is in its collapsed position.

2. A collapsible chair having a back and a seat, comprising a front-supporting frame having a rearwardly otset bight portion upon which said back is mounted and interconnecting a pair of oor-engageable front legs, said back being fixedly mounted on said bight portion substantially rearwardly of the plane of the front legs, a pair of rear legs pivotally connected to said bight portion rearwardly of the plane of the front legs and vertically swingable between a retracted position in which they are in a plane parallel to and rearwardly of the plane of the front legs and an operative position in which they are disposed well rearwardly of the front legs, means pivotally connecting said rear legs to the chair seat on xed pivotal axes, and a seat-supporting rod pivotally interconnecting said front legs to the seat, said seat-supporting rod having its mid-section offset rearwardly and pivotally mounted on the seat rearwardly of the transverse seat center line with the ends of said rod projecting laterally outwardly from said seat and pivotally received in the front legs to support said seat in extended position on the front legs forwardly of the transverse seat center line, said seat being swingable about said seat-supporting rod through the plane of the front legs upon chair collapse to dispose its forward end rearwardly of the plane of the front legs with the ends of said rod engaging said seat rearwardly of the transverse seat center line to limit the collapsing movements of the seat.

3. A collapsible chair having a back and a seat having a metal seat-pan provided with a depending peripheral llip, comprising a front-supporting frame having a bight section upon which said back is mounted and interconnecting a pair of floor-engageable front legs, the ends of said bight portion extending forwardly of the chair back to form a pair of chair arms interposed between the chair back and the front legs, a seat-supporting rod pivotally interconnecting said front legs to the seat and adapted to support the seat in operative position, said seat-supporting rod having an oifset intermediate stretch pivotally connected to the seat pan rearwardly of the transverse seat center line and outwardly projecting ends pivotally received in the front legs for engagement with the lower face of the lateral stretches of the pan lip forwardly of the transverse seat center line to support the seat in extended position, a pair of rear legs pivotally connected to said front-supporting frame and vertically swingable'between retracted position in which they are in a plane parallel to the plane of the front legs and an operative position in which the rear legs are disposed well rearwardly of the front legs, and a pair of rods pivotally connecting said rear legs to the chair seat On Xed pivotal axes, the outer ends of said rods projecting outwardly through the lateral stretches of the pan lip and pivotally mounted in the rear legs and the inner ends of said pair of rods being curved -to abut the inwardly presented faces of the lateral stretches of the pan lip and ixedly connected to the seat pan, said seat being centered between the rear legs by spacers carried on the outer ends of said pair of rods between the pan lip and the rear legs and by the abutments between the curved inner ends of the pair of rods and the pan lip.

4. A collapsible chair having a back and a seat provided with a metal seat `pan having a depending peripheral lip, comprising a front-supporting frame having a bight section upon which said back is mounted and interconnecting a pair of front legs, a seat-supporting rod pivotally interconnecting said front legs and the seat and adapted to support the seat in operative position, said seat upon chair collapse swinging through the plane of the front legs, `a pair of rear legs pivotally connected to said supporting frame and vertically swingable between retracted position in which they are in a plane parallel to the plane of the front legs and an operative position in Iwhich the rear legs are disposed well rearwardly of the front legs, and a pair of rods mounted on said seat-pan and having their outer ends extending outwardly through the lateral stretches of said peripheral lip for pivotal reception in said rear legs to form pivotal axes therewith for the seat, the inner ends of said pair of rods being fxedly mounted on the lower face of the seat pan and curved to lie against the inwardly presented faces of the later-al stretches of said lip, said seat being centered with respect to the rear legs =by spacers carried on the outer ends of said pair of rods between the peripheral lip and the rear legs and by said curved inner ends of the pair of rods.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 175,994 Wagner Nov. 1, 1955 1,614,763 Rastetter Jan. 18, 1927 1,698,698 Hageman Ian. 8, 1929 1,760,008 Schermerhorn May 27, 19'30 2,525,876 Denny Oct. 17, 1950 2,719,574 Adler Oct. 4, 1955 2,860,692 Hamilton Nov. 18, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 206,148 Switzerland Oct. 16, 1939 1,103,090 France May 18, 1955 

